Xichang, China

Waiting for a visa renewal with limited funds, my 24th birthday this past Wednesday was probably the toughest day of the entire trip. Not only was I not allowed a visa renewal in the town I was currently located (Jiulong in western Sichuan), I lost both of my debit cards and credit card! So I am stuck in Xichang waiting for some money to arrive via western union money transfer so I can pay for my new visa (thank goodness!), replaying the last week in my head.

From Chengdu, I cycled a few days to the beautiful town Ya'an, where you exit the Sichuan Basin's constant cloud cover. The next day and half were all up hill, cycling among steep, lush gorges with clear water good enough for drinking. At the top of a large hill ~ 2,500m high there was a 4KM tunnel which led me into a different country it seemed. Everything was Tibetan, the people, the landscape, the architecture. A much drier climate.

I arrived in Kangding, a very touristy town for a night in a nice hostel. The next day led me towards a huge pass, about 4,300m (~14,000ft.) high! It is November, so it was pretty cold, but the roads were dry and the sky clear. On top, I had a view of what seemed to be the Tibetan Plateau, absolutely beautiful - rolling hills at 4,000m high. For the next few days I cycled towards a village called Gongga Shan, famous for its namesake mountain, which you can get an amazing view of. I stayed with a Tibetan family this night, eating beef noodles and drinking butter tea.

After cycling another pass further south (about 4,100m) I descended towards Jiulong, and I felt as if I was back in China. Here I contacted the police to get a visa extension. They sent me on a bus to Xichang! And here I am, waiting and dealing with the Chinese banks. I visited the PSB today (the folks who give you visa renewals) and met the head honcho, an extremely nice man who, after hearing my story of losses, put me in his car and took me out for a huge lunch. We met with an Australian expatriate who ended up helping me with the banks. Sadly the outcome was not so good and I will have to wait another few days to receive some dough. I have finally found a hotel to sleep in though (for around 7 bucks), so I don’t have to worry about finding a dodgy camping spot on the fringes of town.

Southern Sichuan is one of the poorer areas of China. There are many ethnic groups living here that have just recently (within the last fifty years) integrated into modern civilization. The Yi predominant this region and are beautifully dressed. I ignorantly thought them to be Tibetan, but there have been some disputes between the two neighboring cultures for years.

Anyways, still waiting for cash (with passport in hand)!

Xian – Chengdu (8 days)

I apologize for any misspellings.

After a thoroughly fun night in Xian with some great hosts, I hit the road around noon time, on the 4th of November and headed southwest towards the Qinling Mountains. The weather was rainy, and it continued to be this way for the next 4 days. I left via highway 210, which goes through flatlands for about 30 KM before arriving at the Qinling range. The roads were beautifully paved throughout the entirety of this to journey, all the way to Chengdu.

Once at the base of the Qinlings, I found that there was a significant amount of climbing, as well as descending, as well as climbing again, peaking at altitude of 2700m or so. This was panda territory I am told, but there was no chance of seeing one apart from the ones on billboard adds and packages of cheap ciggarettes. Beautiful temperate, decidous forest with heavy pine forests at higher altitudes. Towns in the Qinling are ubiquitous and consist of snack and drink stalls as well as a few cafes. If you look at a map, you notice a bend in highway 210 that places it very closely to the G5 freeway. There is a tunnel which leads to G5. Though you cannot cycle on the freeway, I hopped a small guard rail, for efficiencies sake. 5 KM down the road, a 10 KM tunnel started and the police picked me up in their pickup. After 15 KM they pulled off the highway and deposited me where I had wanted to get off the freeway, at the highway 108 junction. No paperwork or nothing, just a click of their mobile phone camera to show off to friends, and they let me go. I like chinese policemen!

At Highway 108, the road started to descend toward Hanzhong, where I met pollution and heavy traffic. A night in a hotel with some friends, a good fish dinner and back on the road. Pulling out of Hanzhong on 108, the road continued to be clustered untlil about 30 KM away where I met beautiful rolling hill scenery. This continued all the way into cloudy / hazy sichuan basin about 100 KM away from Chengdu. In Chengdu, now recovering from some kind of rash, I think from bed bugs, but I am not sure, and planning the rest of the route to Kunming. I would love to get to western Sichuan, but I am not so sure if I have the time! We’ll see!

Back In Action

I arrived in Xi’an three days ago via a train from Beijing. Yes I know, this is called cheating, but China is a massive country and I do not have all the time in the world you know? Hopping aboard was no problem at all. The ticket cost about 150 RMB and the conductor allowed me to place the bike aboard the train with no hassle really, just a breakdown of the major parts – wheels and panniers. I arrived in Xi’an twelve hours later.

I have been staying with a buddy for the past few days visiting the Terracotta Warriors just east of Xi’an about 45 KM. They are a must see! Really beautiful and truly ancient, the 8^th wonder of the world. I will now be embarking on the second half of my journey. I should arrive in Chengdu in about 10 days. I will be cycling highway 108 from Xi’an. Until Chengdu!

Originally posted 11/04/2011